how to clean install MacOS without Administrator PW

[Wiley1]

I followed your instructions. I was able to boot into the USB to erase and reformat the HD.
It defaulted to "GUID Partition". Is that correct? Volume is now named "Abyss".
Then I rebooted. Instead of two icons, I got only one. So far, so good.

But, when I click "Install MacOS" and Continue, the Continue button turns grey -- forever.
At that point, it isn't possible to go back and choose Disk Utility. All I can do is Restart.

What is likely to be wrong?

 

[Fishrrman]

Wiley --
You're flopping around like a fish out of water.
There might be another way to "get to your destination".
Sometimes "a detour" will take longer, but you can still "get there".

Do you have a spare USB flash drive or hard drive around?
Anything at all, so long as the flash drive is 16gb or larger.

Do this:
First, get booted to the USB installer. You can do this, right?
Then, do this:

- insert the extra drive (flash drive or hard drive)
- open disk utility
- "aim" disk utility at the extra drive
- NUKE IT -- erase it to Mac OS extended with journaling enabled
- Now, quit disk utility and re-open the OS installer
- Can you "aim" the OS installer at the extra drive, does it "see it"?
- If so, try installing the OS onto the extra drive (NOT onto the internal drive)
- When done, see if you can boot to the extra drive and if so, set up a simple account. You want to be able to boot and run from the "extra drive". Nothing fancy yet. Just get it booted, and be able to log into the finder. Nothing more.

Now... you're wondering... why the heck would I ask you to do something like that?

Because... IF you can get the OS installed onto the extra drive... a clean, "never used" copy... you can now use either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to CLONE IT OVER to the internal drive, and maybe get booted and running that way.

I strongly suggest that you TRY this approach.
If you can get the OS installed on the extra drive, we'll go from there.

 

[Wiley1]

Yeah, I've been flopping around on the dock for weeks, but I'm determined to get back into the water.

I'm able to boot into the install USB but then it goes straight to the 4-choice menu: Restore from Time Machine, Install MacOS, Get Help Online, and Disk Utility.
Disk Utility works nicely. I can see and manipulate any connected drive.
The problem comes when I click Install MacOS -- the earth stops turning on its axis.

Maybe I have a bad install USB?
There must be some firmware (BIOS? UEFI?) in an iMac. Could that be the problem?
Perhaps I should try El Capitan instead of High Sierra? or even Yosemite, which was on this machine originally.

 

[DeltaMac]

I see some Mac/boot drive combinations, as a service tech, that occasionally give problems with reinstalls.
So, this is what I do (and rarely fails, if the hardware is actually good):
Boot to the installer.
Erase the internal drive, using Disk Utility.
Shut down - force the system OFF if you have to.
Boot again to the installer.
Reinstall macOS.
The difference is the shutdown, which resets all your hardware, and might be the good step that will get the install to your internal drive.

 

[Wiley1]

Thanks for the suggestion, but it made no difference.
The system stalls when I click "Install MacOS" and "Continue"
What is supposed to happen at that point?

I am going to try a different USB drive with El Capitan, created by DiskMaker_X_7.

 

[DeltaMac]

Thanks for the suggestion, but it made no difference.
The system stalls when I click "Install MacOS" and "Continue"
What is supposed to happen at that point?
...

You will see the app open, which, for High Sierra, shows a window with the default High Sierra background.
Click Continue again, and you will accept the license agreement, Continue, and you will then choose your destination drive, then click the Install button to begin the install.
I have seen this take a minute or more (at the most) from one screen to the next, though generally it will go faster.

How long did you wait for anything to happen after that first Continue?
I would give it maybe 10 minutes for something to happen (to be honest, I would be reaching for the power button if more than 5 minutes goes by, but just to see if something happens, you could let it go for 15 minutes... )

 

[Wiley1]

I'm pretty sure my High Sierra USB was boogered. Because DiskMaker_X_7 has no progress indicator, I might have ejected it before all the files had been fully copied.
Now that I have created a new USB drive with El Capitan, and verified the file sizes, it looks like it is going work this time.
Thanks, everybody who chipped in with great tips.

 

[DeltaMac]

DiskMaker X always tells you when it is complete, with a window that pops up saying exactly that.
I have used DiskMaker X dozens of times. with all different versions, and every OS X since Lion.
Correct, there is no dedicated progress indicator, but version 7 does show you progress through notifications, although that's a bit flimsy, and not too accurate, either. You can check the notifications menu (top right corner of your screen) for evidence of that. You can also look in your Activity Monitor, under CPU for the createinstallmedia process, which runs the entire time that DiskMaker X is working. Also, you can open the volume while it is being created, and see that more space is being used (more files copied to the app)
An older flash drive (that has been erased a few times) will often be really slow with the installer creation, and I have seen some take 30-45 minutes to complete a USB flash drive. Just to compare, I have a multiple partition external SSD that is only for system installers. If the installer app is also on an SSD, the whole process to create a bootable installer on that SSD partition may only take about 3 or 4 minutes, sometimes less. A flash drive can be incredibly slow for that installer creation. The goal is that final window, which is always presented at the end.
One of the other installer creation apps do a bit better about showing progress, such as Install Disk Creator, or Boot Buddy. I prefer the icon that is the final step in the process with DiskMaker X, which is distinctive for each macOS version. The other two use only a generic drive icon. Other than that, no real difference in the result.

 

[Wiley1]

I kept running into an error like this one when creating a 16GB USB:
“The disk could not be created because of an error: An error occurred: -10006. Finder got an error: Can’t set alias \”Install macOS High Sierra:Install macOS High Sierra.app\” to {425, 76}.”

It appears the author of DiskMaker is aware of this issue, but hasn't published a fix.

I never did figure out whether it was a USB incompatibility issue or something else. And, I'm not sure how I fixed it. I did upgrade the MacBook to El Capitan before creating a new bootable USB. Maybe that was it.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Could just be DiskMaker X.

Another alternative: Install Disk Creator